Matt Adcock

Nothing can fully prepare you for this most epic of superhero showdowns. Over ten years Marvel have brought the Avengers and their allies from their comic books to impressive big screen life. Infinity War though is the first time pretty much all of them have been together and even throws the Guardians of the Galaxy into the action too.

We’ve seen the heroic Iron Man, Captain America, Hulk and friends protecting the world before but they’ve never faced a threat as huge as this. You see there’s an unstoppable mad titan named Thanos who is collecting six ‘Infinity Stones’ - artefacts of unimaginable power – with the plan to kill half of all beings in the universe.

Plot wise you don’t need to know much more, except that everything the Avengers have fought for has led up to this moment - the fate of Earth and existence itself has never been more uncertain.

Thanos (Josh Brolin) is potentially the first all CGI baddie to really have a soul. He’s an incredible creation evoking fear and grudging admiration for his sheer iron will. Our heroes are in disarray after the costly their civil war, so with the Avengers scattered it falls to Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo) and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) to convince Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr) and Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) to join the fight. It is a lot of fun to see the various alpha males bantering with each other – a highlight is watching Star Lord (Chris Pratt) get all defensive when his ship is gate-crashed by Thor (Chris Hemsworth).

As the various groups divide to take on various perilous quests in a bid to try and stop Thanos and his minions – the huge arcing narrative holds together by the scale of the common threat. From the first scene, there are no guarantees as to who will survive – so be prepared to swallow hard as it does get emotional.

Directors Anthony and Joe Russo craft the huge action scenes with a deft touch, each fight has resonance and cost – this is by far the most satisfying super hero film for years. The special effects are simply jaw-dropping (which you’d expect from the massive budget and resources Disney can throw at such a huge project) but this sets the bar very high for anything following.

For once you can believe the hype. Avengers: Infinity War is an epic cinematic event not to be missed.